what a crock.....truck movers is so full of crap

this company is a joke. they simple dont pay you what your promiced. and whats all this contractor stuff. everyone knows there contractors. its not enlightening. what is enlighting is what i do with my 1099. and hpw i use it against my wifes taxes. probably could teach you a thing or two about it. EVERY DRIVE AWAY IS CONTRACTOR. they are unprofessional people who leve there drivers for dead. and steal fro. them as well. its a horrible company to "contract"(for the dope who likes to throw that word around like he knows somthing more then the rest of us). breakdown pay is not paid. theyie to you send ypu on wild goose chases to stuff you knpw you cant connect to they say you can you get there and then they say oh can ypu leave ypud car there? aweful human beings. and for the ones who like to throw the word "contractor" out there. there are better places to CONTRACT with. for heavens sake.
choose a driveaway that works for ypur location. stay away from truck movers ypu will be moving used piecs of garbage most of the time. 50%chan e of making it. if yphr not familiar with the dealer ypur picking up from. jome. try yourself anyone ypu will quit. you were warned.

 

theres some serious anger goin on here, trashing TM.

i will agree you can lose your ### working for these guys and the dispatchers will assist you in your loss if you let them.

50 cpm for singles is just above broke unless you cherry pick your loads. also, work for a second company to assist you with back hauls or hauls to a city that offers low airfares back to home. in otherwords, start working as a contractor and stop thinking somebody else will help you make your money.

i got lucky last year and contracted the whiteglove trucks. it paid 90 cpm and paid for all travel back to texas. i paid for fuel but got the fuel surcharge back which worked out to about 18 to 21 cpm, my cost. about 1/2 the trucks were day cabs. taxes had my gross at $106k last year with my net at about half that.

this year, i am working more and making less, so we will see how it goes.... but as i learn better on how to manipulate the loads to my favor, the money should be much better.

again, as a contractor, i am going to cherry pick the loads, if they want the other low paying trucks to move, well, let them sit until they are willing to pay more. if more of us had this attitude, then we would all be better off.

ok, so the bad.

road hazards. i got charged 350 bucks for a rock chipped windshield. a second one is in the works. this is a total rip off and pisses me off but it is all part of the game. i will not deliver to a dealer that back charges me and i tell other drivers the same. never reward bad behavior. this has a tendency to screw the new drivers and they end up quitting and being pissed off and writing bad company reviews like we are reading on this blog.

breakdown pay. many times i have broken down, been paid 30 dollars a day plus lodging. never shorted. key had been over communicating with the company. but this was a none issue. the problem was, i was cheated out of 490 dollars a day pay. 700 miles times 70 cpm in my pocket pay. of course i dont do 700 miles a day every day but i sure do when i can.

 

Yours was the second helpful reply, thanks..

 

Truckmovers pay, is it worth it.

Singles. If you are new at it and not a quick learner. Hell no. Here is an example.

Laredo, Tx to Pacific, Wa 2200 miles.

Singles pay 70cpm. Fuel will average 20cpm. After fuel surcharge reimbursement.
Net pay 1100 dollars.

Out of that you pay for:

transportation to laredo, then taxi to yard. Log at least 6 hours travel time. 1 hour pretrip inspection and fuel up. Motel and 3 meals.
Take 10 off. Permit for NM.
Drive 10 hours to amarillo. 3 meals and motel. Refuel.
Drive 10 hours to Moab, ut. 3 meals and motel.
Drive 10 hours to Caldwell, id. 3 meals motel refuel. Permit for id.
Drive 10 hours to pacific, wa, 3 meals, motel, leave 4 inches fuel in tank, permit for wa.
Deliver to dealership on morning of day 5, must be a week day, business hours. Taxi to airport, fly to next load city, taxi to yard.

What can go wrong? Accidents and construction will cause significant delays. If you break down and are removed from load you will have to get yourself out of where ever they tow the truck. At least 1 in 10 trucks will have breakdown issues. Tires and windshields are driver responsibilities. Hit a deer and you pay for that damage.
nite driving carries increased risk. In texas, twice a year for a few weeks, you will see deer kills on the freeway every couple of miles. Rock chips on paint are charged to the driver. Permits reimbursed, tolls paid by driver. Wind will cut into your pay big-time. Airfare is typically not reimbursable.

Out of that 1100 dollars over a 6 day period you have little left over. Airfares typically cost 200 to 400. Taxis 20 to 100. Motels average 50. To 60. Pay less and risk your life and wallet and equipment. Using the bus is extremely slow and uncomfortable. Train is more money but at least is comfortable. Food is 20 to 50 per day.

Decked drivers pay plates, permits x 4, tolls and taxis. Company pays airfare to next load. Fuel mileage drops to 5 mpg.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

All that being said, you can still make some money but you have to work smart.

 

I dunno. I worked for ATT for awhile and was somewhat familiar with the contractor situation. Seems that only a small number of senior drivers can consistently make money as they have their choice of runs, leaving the poorly paying trips for everyone else.

I recall being told of an ex ATT driver who was training new drivers for TM. His 'story' was he was making an extravagant amount of money when working for ATT but was now making an embarrassing and obscene amount of money with TM - the new 'employees' gazed upon him as if he were a 'god'. The ATT employees present knew most or all of those present would be gone within a month.

I have a question:

If a TM driver experiences a blowout that damages an alloy wheel - who pays for the R & R and road service? A gal I worked with at ATT experienced a steer tire blowout that also damaged the wheel. Total cost (including road service) was about $1200 and she was paid about 6 hours for downtime. I'm thinking a contractor like a TM driver would have to pay for this out of their pocket?

 

So is ATT still in business? If they are do you plan to return?

 

AUTO TRUCK IS STILL IN BUSINESS.

contract drive away drivers pay for ALL road hazard damage. A very thorough pretrip inspection is required or they will stick you with the repair. 99% of the time I find scratches in the chrome work and brushed aluminum. Rock chips to paint and glass are the most frequent hazard.

They deduct 10% until a 1500 dollar deductible is reached. That keeps the sting to a minimum. It is not fair and I suspect this is one of the reasons driver turnover is so high. A fairer way to handle this is to split the cost of the damage btn driver, TM and the shipper. Maybe even an insurance pool where we all contribute to. Dealing with damage will always be a part of the game. Putting the entire responsibility on the driver is ludicrous.

 

According to the labor laws, all they can do is state when you started working for them and the date that you stopped working for them. They aren't allowed to give a reason or make any comment that may make it difficult for you to get hired elsewhere. Talk to your local labor board.